Luther

This review is long in the making.  See, I've been doing a daily review since the first of the year.  There are times that events conspire to keep me from sticking to my daily review format.   Usually, I'll toss up the headline and return to write the actual post later.  My first post mis-hap was at the beginning of February, when I fell asleep before posting.  It was late, and we were watching Luther.  I zonked out, and Mark put up a temporary post for me, holding the place.  It was then that I realized I needed to be a bit more flexibile in my writing.  Nothing will always go perfectly all the time.  So, without further stalling, here are my thoughts on Luther.

As with a great deal of shows that we've been watching lately, Luther is a British show.  It follows a police detective, as he interacts with various people and solves various crimes.  It's kind of like Sherlock Holmes meets The Shield and The Wire.  The main character has Holmes' cleverness and Vic Mackey's sense of right and wrong, while the show is written with the detail of The Wire.  Frankly, they took all the best parts of those properties and put them in one show where the main character is played by Stringer Bell!*

Idris Elba, the actor behind DCI Luther, does an amazing job regardless of what he is portraying.  Putting him in this role was a guaranteed win for the show.  The other surrounding actors are equally talented and keep the show grounded.  I'm not a big fan of the woman who plays Luther's wife, but that has to do with a character I saw her play once.  She's actually just fine as an actress.  Ruth Wilson, who I first encountered in this show, is almost as mesmerizing as Elba can be.  She plays her part so well that you just want to see more of her.

It's rewarding to see such capable actors wield such intricate and well written stories.  The show expects you to pay attention and follow along; there is no speaking down to you.  If you are inattentive, you'll be lost.  It's refreshing to see shows that expect their audience to show a modicum of intelligence.  That being said, you don't have to be a genius to watch Luther.  You just have to absorb it all.  Pay attention, and it will pay off.

I'm not sure what the cost is to make Luther, but the production values are quite good.  Effects are well done.  Costumes are appropriate.  All the little pieces come together.  No detail is ignored, and it allows the show to come across as more realistic than others attempting to achieve the same level.

While season one is superior, Luther is a high quality show all around.  Take the time to watch it, and you'll enjoy it.  Just realize you actually have to set that time aside.  Don't be browsing Reddit while you're watching it.  If you browse Reddit while watching Luther, you're gonna have a bad time.**

*For those of you unfamiliar with The Wire, Stringer Bell is played by Idris Elba, who is an amazing actor.  Most of you are probably familiar with him through Thor, where he played Heimdall.  He also spent some time at Dunder Mifflin on the Office.

**The silly meme generator wasn't working when I went to make my meme.  :(

Below is the original holding post, put up by my amazingly funny and sexy husband.  I couldn't bring myself to delete it, as I enjoy his writing and humor.

Luther, Starring Stringer Bell.

I started this day with every intention of reviewing Luther, a BBC television show starring Idris Elba. Fans of The Wire will know him as Stringer Bell. So far it is an excellent and compelling show. Unfortunately, I took Mark to work early and am exhausted. I had to stop Luther part way.

Instead, I am reviewing the world at 5:30 am. Here's my review: It's like the normal world only darker and it sucks. The only people that want to be up at 5:30 am are vampires, and the Twilight franchise has shown us how lame they tend to be. 

5:30 am sucks so hard, it made me pass out in the middle of Luther; which is an amazing show. That's right folks, 5:30 am is not only terrible in its own right, it actively ruins GOOD things. Like Luther and this review, apparently. See, I'm actually unconscious right now and Mark is ghost writing this review for me.

He claimed to be "trepidocious" about ghost writing (not a real word, Mark), until he realized there were no actual ghosts involved. He was quite relieved, as ghosts give him "the shivering willies". He loves me so much and understands how important it is to have a review up every day that he stayed up late, put me to bed, kissed me good night, and braved ghosts to write this review for me.

He should totally get something awesome for his birthday, like a puppy.

(Moved from FB - January 23, 2012)